Tesco Derry Half Marathon

dario28

Hello ,

Has any one ran the Derry half marathon before, their website doesnt give any course info , as in ,is it fast , flat , elevation etc...

Also whats best way to get to start on the day will be staying in the city

Thanks
D

rigal

Here's the route for the 2008 race which seems to be broadly similar to this year's route -

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/londonderry/716869786907

I've ran in Gransha and it is pretty flat but don't know the other roads very well. From the main road the land around Gransha looks to be fairly flat so would reckon it'll be a fairly fast course.

Where are you staying in the City? Gransha (where the race starts) is at the waterside end of the Foyle Bridge (the big bridge not the small blue one near the centre of town), it's fairly easy to find and you shouldn't have any major problems with traffic.

dario28

rigal wrote: »

Here's the route for the 2008 race which seems to be broadly similar to this year's route -

http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-kingdom/londonderry/716869786907

I've ran in Gransha and it is pretty flat but don't know the other roads very well. From the main road the land around Gransha looks to be fairly flat so would reckon it'll be a fairly fast course.

Where are you staying in the City? Gransha (where the race starts) is at the waterside end of the Foyle Bridge (the big bridge not the small blue one near the centre of town), it's fairly easy to find and you shouldn't have any major problems with traffic.

Cool thanks for that ,we are stying in the City of Derry Hotel on the river. Got 2 days there so should be good

jaymack75

detailed route information now on the race website

http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/halfmarathon/Route.htm

looking forward to this race....hoping it'll be a fast one

dario28

jaymack75 wrote: »

detailed route information now on the race website

http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/halfmarathon/Route.htm

looking forward to this race....hoping it'll be a fast one

Perfect Thanks !!

central park

I will be in Derry on that weekend and would like to hear from anyone who ran this last year. How far is it from City centre? Is it all run on roads? Is it flat? and what kind of times did people do? I will probably do it in about 2.20 but will I be only one at that pace??! Any info would be gr8, thanks

jaymack75

central park wrote: »

I will be in Derry on that weekend and would like to hear from anyone who ran this last year. How far is it from City centre? Is it all run on roads? Is it flat? and what kind of times did people do? I will probably do it in about 2.20 but will I be only one at that pace??! Any info would be gr8, thanks

Haven't done this race before, but from the course descriptions, it sounds like most of it is on roads, but some of it will be through the grounds of the hospital and some through industrial estate and the grounds of Invista (former Dupont site) - not sure if any of these parts will be footpaths or trails.

There shouldn't be much in the way of hills as the course is never all that far from the river, but could be a bit 'rolly' at times.

Happy racing:)

central park

Thanks for that info. I will be staying in the city so roughly how do I get to start? I am not familiar with the city and need to register early on the day. Thanks again.

rigal

dario28 wrote: »

Cool thanks for that ,we are stying in the City of Derry Hotel on the river. Got 2 days there so should be good

There's a good restaurant called the Exchange across the road from the City Hotel. Food is excellent and it's very popular. For the record (mods) I have no affiliation with the place - it just does very good food!

For anyone staying in the city centre see easy and direct route to Gransha below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Queens+Quay,+Londonderry,+County+Londonderry,+BT48+7AS,+United+Kingdom+(City+Hotel)&daddr=gransha,+derry,+northern+ireland&hl=en&geocode=CRBD2BsZoWmnFZRBRwMdNEmQ_yGsuS-eIyCEAA%3B&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=55.003044,-7.298947&sspn=0.044206,0.15398&ie=UTF8&z=14

central park

Thanks for map. Hope I'll make it to start line in time!Another nice restaurant near City hotel is the Garage or the Mandarin Palace.

dario28

rigal wrote: »

There's a good restaurant called the Exchange across the road from the City Hotel. Food is excellent and it's very popular. For the record (mods) I have no affiliation with the place - it just does very good food!

For anyone staying in the city centre see easy and direct route to Gransha below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Queens+Quay,+Londonderry,+County+Londonderry,+BT48+7AS,+United+Kingdom+(City+Hotel)&daddr=gransha,+derry,+northern+ireland&hl=en&geocode=CRBD2BsZoWmnFZRBRwMdNEmQ_yGsuS-eIyCEAA%3B&mra=pe&mrcr=0&sll=55.003044,-7.298947&sspn=0.044206,0.15398&ie=UTF8&z=14

Thanks Rigal -Will check it out after the race, nothing like a massive pig out afterwards -

Also we have never been to Derry , for tourist things, what would you recommend -prob chill out Sat and have walk/drive about on Sunday

dario28

Also is there gonna be parking at the grounds on the morning or whats the best way to get there

Taxi would prob be cheap enough I suppose from Derry City Hotel

rigal

dario28 wrote: »

Also we have never been to Derry , for tourist things, what would you recommend -prob chill out Sat and have walk/drive about on Sunday

I'd recommend doing one of the guided tours if you have time. They take you around the walls, bogside etc.

dario28 wrote: »

Also is there gonna be parking at the grounds on the morning or whats the best way to get there

Taxi would prob be cheap enough I suppose from Derry City Hotel

Taxi would be cheap and hassle free but I'm pretty sure (99.99%) they'd have parking at the start if you wanted to bring the car. I guess that would save you having to call a taxi after the race.

central park

Just home from a great weekend in Derry. What a fantastic day for the half marathon yesterday. I actually posted a PB and I'm thrilled but I thought I'd never get to the turnaround at the 8ish mile mark!! Well done to all who took part, no mean feat running 13.1 miles in that heat! Congrats to organisers too, on a great event.

dario28

I'll second that amazing organisation - really enjoyed the race went around in 88:59 on the garmin and 89:22 on the course and Derry is a great spot for sightseeing and well deserved boozing

Great weekend

Anyone know where the results will be published ?

jaymack75

great running dario28!

there's a press release on the link below - it says the results and photos will be on the half marathon website today


http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/Press%20Releases/120909-marathon.htm

Causeway

Results here.

dario28

Causeway wrote: »

Results here.

Just looking at the top 100 - there are 40 people in the over 40's Category , pretty impressive

Also one person over 65 did an 85min half.....

central park

Well done on a great time! I wasn't nearly as fast as you so you were probably having a few drinks while I was still out on the course!! As long as we're all happy...results on website now.